1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a printed fabric for applying a printed fabric pattern to an object and a method for making the printed fabric.
2. Background Art
The art of applying a printed fabric or an applique onto an object, such as a garment, has been done and continues to be improved. There are several ways known in the art of manufacturing and applying an applique to a garment. However, the industry has shown a need to provide a more cost and time effective applique and a way of making the applique without sacrificing the aesthetic value or materials thereof.
For example, an applique may be a laminate having a top layer and a bottom layer attached onto each other. The bottom layer may have an adhesive which may be applied onto a garment with heat or pressure. When applied onto the garment, the applique provides an appearance of stitching or embroidery of the applique onto the garment. In many situations, the cost and time effectiveness of attaching the layers together may be improved.
Some appliques are single layered having printed designs thereon. Such appliques are directly applied onto a garment, but in most situations do not provide an industry acceptable appearance of a laminate embroidered onto the garment.
The industry has also shown a need to improve ways of making printed fabrics, e.g. screen printed twills, which are to be applied onto garments. Currently, manufacturers of such printed fabrics are challenged due to mis-accounted shrinkage of the printed fabrics during a typical step of drying. In many situations, manufacturers must account for shrinkage of a printed fabric when the printed fabric is dried. Giving the various parameters such as temperature, time, materials, shrinkage calculations are not always exact. In many situations, this results in cutting dried printed fabric slightly in error. In turn, such fabrics are discarded, thereby increasing costs and production time.